me, on the defaults, SOF2 really did look worse than the original.  However, the game really errs on the side of performance maximization. I was able to improve the look of the game quite a bit without sacrificing the frame rate.  If you do have a higher end Geforce 3 or 4 or Radeon card, you are in for a treat.  The graphics are absolutely beautiful and really set the mood for SOF2.

The overall presentation immerses you totally.  The detailed graphics, and the sound complement each other to create living breathing levels.  In the jungle levels, tall grass sways in the wind and rustles as you glide through it.  Bullets ricochet off rock surfaces, and broken glass crunches underneath your boots.

Adding to the realistic presentation is the realism of the enemy AI.  Enemies will flank you, throw grenades at you if you are dug in, call for back up and react differently when shot.  If injured, some will hobble away and drop their weapon.  Others, if the weapon is shot out of their hands, will run away and look to grab another gun.

A large sticking point with parents everywhere is sure to be the level of detail Raven put into illustrating death animations and wounds.  With the new GHOUL technology, Raven was able to create horrific dismemberment and death animations.  For instance, shooting someone point blank in the head with a shotgun, will remove their head completely and reduce the body to a fountain of gore, as blood spurts from the neck in regular heart beating pulses.  Being a gore buff, I say bring it on, but for the more sensitive (and sensibly sane) person, there is a violence lock that will tone things down a bit.

The variety of missions in SOF2 really adds to the balance of the game.  During some missions, Mullins is required to man a cannon and take down enemies from a chopper or the back of a truck.  In others, Mullins is required to infiltrate and use stealth to gain his objectives.  This is done by carefully moving bodies around, avoiding detection through quietly sneaking by guards, and by using the knife to dispatch some enemies.  The sound meter has been carried over from the first game, and it has been more effectively integrated into the game this time around.  Enemies investigate the point of sound, and running, crouching, walking and crawling prone, all create different levels of noise.

Before each mission, you can choose your weapons and, in the course of the levels, you're able to pick up more.  Each weapon is quite unique, and affects your enemies differently.  They all have individual sounds, different levels of recoil, and varying levels of accuracy.  Of great detail also, are the great reloading sequences, and animations of Mullins playing with his weapons when he is not using them.

Although, the game is incredibly detailed and realistic, it is by no means a tactical shooter.  It definitely has more in common with Return to Castle Wolfenstein than it does with Ghost Recon.  And with that, it is extremely solid and fun.  It knows it’s an action title and it plays that way.  The differing levels of difficulty don’t dumb down the AI, but rather limit the amounts of saves you have per mission.  The multiplayer aspect of SOF2 is equally as solid as it’s single player portion.  Based on the Quake 3 Arena engine, SOF2 makes use of solid net code, and, in general, offers common goodies of what is expected these days of most multiplayer modes.

I'm sure those playing Tony Hawk 3, Morrowind, and Grand Theft Auto 3, won’t drop everything to play SOF2.  Those who do however, will be glad they tried it, and may find it hard to return to their steady diet of the aforementioned games.

- Mark Leung

(June 26, 2002)